Reviews | The Sign of his Coming

The Sign of his Coming

Sid Levett & Geoff Henstock

The Christadelphian review (from April 2014)

A sign for our days

GIVEN the turbulent history of the Jews over the past two thousand years, their continued existence as a people is remarkable and the presence of the modern state of Israel is nothing less than miraculous.

The recent CMPA publication, The Sign of his Coming by Brethren Sid Levett and Geoff Henstock looks at Israel both in history and prophecy and contains fascinating information and insights. The authors commence with an introductory chapter on God’s promises to Abraham and their continued relevance. They move on to consider events that led to the dispersion of the Jews in AD 70 and their return to the Land in more recent times. There are chapters as we might expect dealing with the Zionist movement, the Balfour Declaration, the ‘drying up’ of the Euphrates, the Holocaust, the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 and subsequent challenges to its existence; but the authors also cover issues that may be considered less frequently, such as “Catholic complicity with Hitler”, “The Palestinians: mythical yet real” and the role of some US presidents in relation to Israel. In addition, the book explores some exciting prophecies that relate to the latter days and the return of Christ. At the end of each chapter there are helpful suggestions for further reading.

In the “Preface” the authors note: “Most chapters can be read independently of others but reading them consecutively will provide a ‘flow’ of the outworking of prophecy both in events that have occurred and those yet to take place, in particular as they relate to the promises made to the patriarchs which are at the heart of the Gospel message … Overall we hope that the book will provide the reader with a greater awareness of God’s workings, especially over the past 120 years, as events relating to Israel’s return began to become apparent. Those ongoing events point to the nearness of Christ’s return. We must keep that in our minds as we continue to serve Him in an increasingly secular society” (page vi).

Faith can undoubtedly be strengthened by an appreciation of prophecy, and this well-written, easy-to-read book will help us to that end.